Special Board of Aldermen 12-21-2020 Page 8
It’s not like half of my business or three-quarters of my business is coming from out of state, if that is our
true fear when we are not looking to take into account what is going on at the Pheasant Lane Mall
during the Holiday Season and how many individuals from the State of Massachusetts may be shopping
at those retail outlets or whether there’s a thousand people walking around a big box retail store, we are
still yet pinpointing a focus in on the hospitality industry that’s — your own data shows is not proving an
impact in the rising numbers of COVID. | implore you to vote against this measure and to make sure that
you publicly announce that this measure did fail if it is to fail so that our community understands that this
curfew is not in effect and they are able to come back out and be in our businesses. It really is
disappointing after the City did such an amazing job this summer to help reinforce our business
structure in a really struggling time, yet this is where we have landed in moments that we are still having
to space every other table and seat minimally 6 people at a table and again following some of the
highest guidelines and restrictions that both the Federal and State Governments and local Governments
have placed on any industry, being one of the cleanest industries in this environment, | feel like we
seem to still be made out to be the evil force driving what is going on in the world today. | appreciate
your guys’ time, | appreciate you listening and please, when you decide to vote, please vote no to this
measure.
President Wilshire
Thank you. Mike Somers?
(Music playing in the backgroundq)
Mike Somers. Yes, good evening. My name is Mike Somers, | live in Hooksett, but | am the President
and CEO of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association. We have more than 40 member
restaurants in the Greater Nashua or Nashua area.
President Wilshire
Mike, can | interrupt you for one second?
Mike Summers Certainly.
President Wilshire
Everyone needs to put their phones and computers on mute except for the speaker please. Thank you, |
am sorry to interrupt but it was very loud background noise.
Mike Somers Oh that’s quite a lot, | think was an episode of Friends or something. But again, | am
speaking to you this evening and appreciate the opportunity to do on behalf of our 40 plus restaurants in
the Nashua area. | want to give a little bit of a broader perspective if | may? | just want you to
understand that the restaurant industry in New Hampshire and across this country is an industry in crisis
right now, you know. I’ve talk to restaurants from all over the State, Nashua specifically in the last few
weeks and they are telling me that they are down anywhere between 40% and 60% in business just
since Halloween. So this is a really dangerous time for a lot of our industry members.
Now | will touch on it briefly, as these have already been mentioned. Obviously if we go to a 9:30 curfew
we will see layoffs, that’s absolutely going to happen and | think some numbers have been shared with
you, just as to what those will be. Some of the science and the data that | think | shared with you all ina
letter over the weekend, you know, 75% or more of the community transmission is taking place in
private homes. And one thing | want you to consider is this, if you have a 9:30 curfew, folks are not
going to go out after 8:30 at the latest, but they are still going to get together.
